Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello! Brooklyn is having is amputation this Tuesday. I have two sets of stairs (only 2 steps in each set) he'll have to go up and down in order to use the bathroom. I'm wondering if I should have a mini ramp built on these steps. Is it better just to get them used to stairs right away or have a ramp?
Hi, I'm sure somebody with a bit more experience will be a long in a minute, but I thought you might like to hear that our greyhound, Eva, who is a rear leg amp, is managing ok (with help) going down our horrible set of stairs (there are about 15 of them) from our front door. She is being carried back up at the moment, but will have to learn to go back up in due course! I really wish we didn't have the stairs to cope with, but there isn't any alternative so we are coping.
I think whether stairs or a ramp is best depends a lot on the size and agility of the dog, so probably best to go with whatever you feel Brooklyn will cope best with.
Best of luck to you and Brooklyn.
Obviously everyone is different, but we have four steps at the front door, and four out the back. We built a ramp the night Sam had his surgery...and he never used it. He was a front amp, and while he was a bit slow the first couple of times, he always used the stairs.
We also have a lot of steps inside our house, and keeping him off the stairs was a battle...and one I eventually gave up trying to fight (despite some nail-biting moments in the very beginning and very end).
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
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"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
My little pug Maggie was a rear amp, and we also have two steps each in the front and back. She never had any problem with the steps. Originally it was brick in the front, and cement in the back. I built a trex type deck in the back which is a little slick and the steps then made her nervous. I solved that with non-skid rugs on the steps, the outdoor kind. She would not go up or down the stairs without her rugs in place. As she got older I thought a ramp might be easier for her so I spent some time crafting a ramp with a good non-skid surface. Mag would have nothing to do with it!
Each pup is different, but I bet Brooklyn will do OK with 2 stairs. I would make sure the footing is as good as you can make it so he is confident when he tries it. And you can help him with a sling until he builds up strength. Or you might find he does them no problem right off the bat. Either way you can see how he does, then get a ramp built if he needs one.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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